Tamper-evident closure

ABSTRACT

A tamper-evident closure ( 100 ) is described, wherein the tamper-evident closure ( 100 ) comprises a body ( 102 ), a cap portion ( 104 ) coupled to the body ( 102 ) by a joint ( 106 ), and a tab ( 124 ) attached to a closure body skirt ( 122 ) of the body ( 102 ) to provide a space ( 126 ) between the closure body skirt ( 122 ) and the tab ( 124 ) to accommodate a lip portion ( 114 ) of the cap portion ( 104 ). Further, an inset ( 129 ) is provided below the tab ( 124 ) in the body skirt ( 122 ), wherein the tab ( 124 ) and the closure body skirt ( 122 ) are attached to one another by a seal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates toclosures for containers and, in particular, relates to tamper-evidentclosures.

BACKGROUND

Closures are provided to cover product-dispensing openings formed inbottles, tubes or other containers. There are various types of closuresavailable in the market including screw-top closures, snap-top closures,and flip-top closures. In conventional tamper-evident closures, atear-away strip, generally made of plastic and coupled to a skirtportion of a closure, is provided. If the tear-away strip is missing ordamaged, it means that someone may have tampered with and/or gainedunauthorized access to a product stored in the container. Further,existing tamper-evident closures involve specialized equipment toprovide a tamper-evident feature and also involve high manufacturingcost due to the use of extra material. On the other hand, cheaper andsimpler tamper-evident closures can easily be tampered with, withoutanyone noticing that any tampering had taken place, thus putting publichealth and safety at risk.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to tamper-evidentclosures. This summary is neither intended to identify essentialfeatures of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use indetermining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

A tamper-evident closure is described, wherein the tamper-evidentclosure comprises a body, a cap portion coupled to the body by a joint,and a tab attached to a closure body skirt of the body to provide aspace between the closure body skirt and the tab to accommodate a lipportion of the cap portion. Further, an inset is provided below the tabin the closure body skirt, wherein the tab and the closure body skirtare attached to one another by a seal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other features, aspects and advantages of the subjectmatter will be better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of a tamper-evident closure having atamper-evident feature, in an open position, in accordance with anembodiment of the present subject matter.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a side view and a cross-sectional side view,respectively, of the tamper-evident closure, in accordance with anembodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of a cap portion of the tamperevident closure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 4 shows a partial front view of the tamper-evident closure,according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This present subject matter relates to tamper-evident closures. Varioustypes of tamper-evident closures, such as flip-top closures, are knownin the art and are used for covering openings of various containersincluding tube containers, bottles, etc., which are used for storingvarious products, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food products.

Conventional tamper-evident closures are either high on cost because ofthe involvement of specialized equipment or machines duringmanufacturing, or they turn out to be unreliable and easy to tamper,thus putting public health and safety at risk.

The tamper-evident closure as described herein includes a body and a capportion. The cap portion is adapted for movement from a closed positionon the body to an open position, away from the body. The cap portion canbe coupled to the body by a joint, such as a butterfly hinge. In anembodiment, the joint may be a bi-stable hinge and the tamper-evidentclosure is a flip-top closure. In another embodiment, the body isconfigured to snap-fit on a container.

Further, the cap portion includes a cover surface, a skirt portionencircling the cover surface, and a projection disposed on the coversurface and projecting in a direction towards the body of thetamper-evident closure. The body includes a planar surface, which actsas a cover for a product stored in a container on which thetamper-evident closure is disposed. The planar surface has an openingfor dispensing the product stored inside the container. In anembodiment, the opening is provided at a position on the planar surfacesuch that the projection disposed on the cover surface is received,substantially flush, by the opening, in the closed position of the capportion. Further, the body includes a closure body skirt encircling thecover surface. A tab is attached to the closure body skirt such that aspace is provided between the closure body skirt and the tab and aninset is provided below the tab in the body skirt. Further, the skirtportion of the cap portion includes a lip portion, wherein a frontsurface of the lip portion includes a protruded part. In the closedposition of the cap portion, the space between the closure body skirtand the tab receives the lip portion.

In an embodiment, the tab is provided with a cavity, which is configuredto receive the protruded part of the lip portion, substantially flush,thereby providing a locking between the cap portion and the body of thetamper-evident closure. In an embodiment, the tab is attached to thebody of the tamper-evident closure by a seal, thereby providing atamper-evident feature to the tamper-evident closure. Further an outersurface of the tab forms a smooth surface with an outer surface of thebody skirt. In order to release the cap portion from the body, the sealis broken to detach the tab, at least partially, from the body, or iscompletely detached, by using optimum force. Once detached, the tabcannot be replaced, thereby providing an evidence of possible tamperingthat may have taken place with the product stored inside the containerbearing the closure.

FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of a tamper-evident closure 100 inan open position, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentsubject matter. In an embodiment, the tamper-evident closure 100,hereinafter referred to as closure 100, is a one-piece plastic molded,flip-top closure having a body 102 adapted to be mounted on a neck (notshown) of a container (not shown) such as a tube or a bottle. Theclosure 100 includes a cap portion 104 adapted for movement from aclosed position, that is, in contact with the body 102, to an openposition, away from the body 102. The body 102 and the cap portion 104may be coupled to one another by a joint 106, such as a butterfly hinge.In an embodiment, the joint 106 is a bi-stable hinge.

Further, the cap portion 104 includes a cover surface 108, a projection110 disposed on the cover surface 108, and a skirt portion 112 enclosingthe cover surface 108. In an embodiment, the skirt portion 112 isconfigured such that a press fit is achieved between the cap portion 104and the body 102. The skirt portion 112 rests on an outercircumferential portion 107 of the body 102 when the cap portion 104 isin the closed position. The skirt portion 112 includes a lip portion114, opposite to the joint 106. A front surface of the lip portionincludes a protruded part 116. On the other hand, the body 102 includesa planar surface 118 having an opening 120 for dispensing a productstored in the container. In an embodiment, the opening 120 is providedat a position on the planar surface 118 such that the projection 110disposed on the cover surface 108 is received by the opening 120,substantially flush, in the closed position of the cap portion 104.

Apart from the planar surface 118, the body 102 includes a closure bodyskirt 122 encircling the planar surface 118. Further, a tab 124 isattached to the closure body skirt 122, at a position opposite to thejoint 106, in a manner such that the outer surface of the closure bodyskirt 122 and the outer surface of the tab 124 form a smooth surface,and a space (not shown) exists between the closure body skirt 122 andthe tab 124. This space is provided for the purpose of accommodating thelip portion 114 of the cap portion 104, in the closed position of thecap portion 104. In an embodiment, the tab 124 is made of a polymericmaterial, such as polypropylene (PP). In another embodiment, the closure100 can be a monolithic piece formed, for example, of a polymericmaterial such as PP, PP copolymer, and high density polyethylenecopolymer. The closure 100 can be formed using any suitableinjection-molding or compression-molding technique.

Further, the tab 124 includes a cavity (not shown), which is configuredto receive the protruded part 116 of the lip portion 114, substantiallyflush, thereby providing a locking between the cap portion 104 and thebody 102 of the closure 100, in the closed position of the cap portion104. Further, the tab 124 is attached to the closure body skirt 122 by aseal, so as to provide the tamper-evident feature to the closure 100. Inan embodiment, the tab 124 is attached to the closure body skirt 122 byat least one break-away stitch between the tab 124 and the closure bodyskirt 122. In order to release the cap portion 104 from its closedposition, the seal is broken to detach the tab 124, at least partially,from the closure body skirt 122, through the application of force. In anembodiment, the location at which the tab 124 is attached to the closurebody skirt 122 is in the form of an inset (not shown), through which auser may apply force using his or her thumb, for example, and pull thetab 124 outwardly, away from the closure 100, to either partially breakthe tab 124 or completely detach the tab 124 from the closure body skirt122. In this way, the tab 124, when stitched to the closure body skirt122, provides the tamper-evident feature. The tamper-evident feature asdescribed above is further elaborated upon in subsequent diagrams.

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b show a side view and a cross-sectional side view,respectively, of the tamper-evident closure, in accordance with anembodiment of the present subject matter. FIG. 2 a, in particular,illustrates the tab 124 and a space 126 that exists between the closurebody skirt 122 and the tab 124 for the purpose of accommodating the lipportion 114. As already mentioned earlier, the cap portion 104 can bemoved along the joint 106 in order to achieve the closed position of thecap portion 104, and can be pressed down further, towards the body 102,so that the lip portion 114 of the cap portion 104 is accommodated intothe space 126 provided between the closure body skirt 122 and the tab124. In such a position, that is, upon pressing the cap portion 104towards the body 102, the protruded part 116 is received by a cavity(not shown) provided in the tab 124, substantially flush. Further, asmentioned earlier, an outer surface of the tab 124 can then be sealed tothe closure body skirt 122 so that the protruded part 116 can only bereleased from the cavity upon removal of the tab 124, for example, bypartially or completely breaking the seal to detach the tab 124 from theclosure body skirt 122. In an embodiment, the tab 124 is stitched to theclosure body skirt 122 by way of at least one break-away stitch.

In addition, in the closed position of the cap portion 104, theprojection 110 (as shown in FIG. 2 b) moves inside the opening 120 so asto cover a periphery of the opening 120 and seal the opening 120. Thishelps prevent any product stored inside the container from spillingthrough the opening 120. The projection 110 may be sized to create afriction fit with the opening 120, for example, with an internaldiameter of the opening 120. Further, in FIG. 2 b, a cavity 128 can beseen in which the protruded part 116 is accommodated in the closedposition of the cap portion 104. The protruded part 116 may be of ashape that is in correspondence with a shape of the cavity. Furthermore,an inset portion 129 used for breaking the seal of the tab 124, asdiscussed earlier, is also illustrated. Through the inset portion 129,which, in an embodiment, is in the shape of a depression in the closurebody skirt 122, facilitates a user to apply force, for example, usinghis or her thumb, to pull the tab 124 outwardly, i.e., away from theclosure body skirt 122, and break the seal holding the tab. 124. Tofurther facilitate the breaking of the seal, the protruded part 116 maybe provided with a downward sloping surface. Once the seal is broken andthe tab 124 is detached, at least partially, from the closure body skirt122, the cap portion 104 can be opened in the same manner as anyconventional flip-top closure is opened. Also, an already detached tab124 is an indication of possible tampering with the product storedinside the container.

FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of the cap portion 104 of theclosure 100, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter.As shown in detail here, the lip portion 114 of the cap portion 104 isshown with the protruded part 116 on its outer surface. In anembodiment, the protruded part 116 has a shape corresponding to thecavity 128 in which the protruded part 116 is received when the capportion 104 is pressed towards the body 102, i.e., to achieve the closedposition. In this closed position, a locking is provided between thebody 102 and the cap portion 104, and then an outer periphery of the tab124 can be sealed to the closure body skirt 122, at least at onelocation, and preferably at two or more locations, by way of, forexample, break away stitch(es).

FIG. 4 shows a partial front view of the closure 100 having thetamper-evident feature, according to an embodiment of the presentsubject matter. As shown in FIG. 4, the tab 124 is shown having thecavity 128 configured to receive the protruded part 116 of the lipportion 114. In an embodiment, the tab 124 is sealed to the insetportion 129 of the closure body skirt 122, by way of, for example,break-away stitches 130. In an embodiment, the break-away stitches 130are placed away from the inset 129. The number of stitches 130 may varydepending on the requirement and cost constraints. A user may applyforce using, for example, his or her thumb, to break the stitches 130 todetach the tab 124, at least partially, or completely detach the tab 124from the closure body skirt 122. A user may then open the cap portion104 to expose the opening 120, by pushing the cap portion 104 upwards.Once detached, the tab 124 cannot be replaced, thereby providingevidence that the closure 100 or the product stored inside the containerhas been tampered with. In an embodiment, the whole of the closure 100,including the tab 124 along with the stitches 130, is made one piece,for example, via injection molding, using a tough yet flexible polymericmaterial, such as PP, so that the tab 124 detaches from the closure bodyskirt 122 upon being subjected to a force.

In an embodiment not shown here, the closure 100 may be disposed on acontainer by, for example, cooperatively engaging a screw threadarrangement or by pressing the two elements together until an annulargroove in one element cooperatively engages with an annular ring or apartial ring-shaped segment on the other element or by snap-fit. In anembodiment, the closure 100 includes a fitting arrangement 125 to enablesnap fit of the closure 100 on the container. By providing the fittingarrangement 125 for snap-fit, the closure 100 can be easily aligned anddisposed on an oval top container. However, it will be appreciated thatfor other containers, such as circular top containers, screw threadarrangement may also be used. The cap portion 104 of the closure 100 maybe opened and closed by pivoting around the joint 106, once the stitches130 are broken. The joint 106 may bias the cap portion 104 into the openand closed positions.

Although the subject matter has been described in considerable detailwith reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, otherembodiments are possible. As such, the spirit and scope of the inventionshould not be limited to the description of the embodiment containedtherein.

I/We claim:
 1. A tamper-evident closure (100) comprising: a body (102)having a closure body skirt (122); a cap portion (104) coupled to thebody (102) by a joint (106), wherein the cap portion (104) includes alip portion (114); and a tab (124) attached to the closure body skirt(122) of the body (102) by a seal (130), wherein a space (126) isprovided between the closure body skirt (122) and the tab (124) toaccommodate the lip portion (114) of the cap portion (104), and whereinan inset (129) is provided below the tab (124) in the closure body skirt(122).
 2. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim 1,wherein the inset (129) is a depression in the closure body skirt (122).3. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein thejoint (106) is a bi-stable joint.
 4. The tamper-evident closure asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a protruded part (116) is disposed on afront surface of the lip portion (114).
 5. The tamper-evident closure asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the protruded part (116) has a downwardsloping surface.
 6. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim3, wherein the tab (124) includes a cavity (128) and wherein theprotruded part (116) is adapted to flush fit with the cavity (128). 7.The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seal(130) comprises at least one break-away stitch between the tab (124) andthe closure body skirt (122).
 8. The tamper-evident closure (100) asclaimed in claim 7, wherein the at least one break-away stitch (130) isprovided away from the inset (129).
 9. The tamper-evident closure (100)as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tab (124) is attached to the closurebody skirt (122) at a position substantially opposite to the joint(106).
 10. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim 1,wherein an outer surface of the tab (124) forms a smooth surface with anouter surface of the closure body skirt (122).
 11. The tamper-evidentclosure (100) as. claimed in claim 1, wherein the body (102) furthercomprises a planar surface (118) having an opening (120), wherein theopening (120) is configured to receive, in a sealing manner, aprojection (110) disposed on a cover surface (108) of the cap portion(104).
 12. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimed in claim 1,wherein the tamper-evident closure (100) and the tab (124) are made of apolypropylene copolymer.
 13. The tamper-evident closure (100) as claimedin claim 1, wherein the body (102), the cap portion (104), and the joint(106) are formed as a single-piece.
 14. The tamper-evident closure (100)as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fitting arrangement 125 forbeing snap fit on a container.